#Sword of Doom

[cesarescabinet]

(this is spacekrakens lmao) dude idk anything about like 1950s Japanese cinema, do you have any recommendations? looking for stuff to toss on the watchlist now that I'm a bit burned out on horror (unless you have some horror recs)

Hey! If you’re curious about Japanese cinema (particularly 1950s), there’s a lot of avenues to explore! Musicals, crime, horror, historical—it all depends on what mood you’re in. (Putting this under a read more because I'm DEFINITELY going to be long posting about this!!!) Hope this is useful to you lol.

(Also noting if anybody wants to add to this list with their own recommendations feel free!!)

With old school Japanese cinema, I’ll always recommend Akira Kurosawa (obviously). He’s made some of the best Japanese movies (and arguably, the best movies of all time imo) and I feel like his work is a good gateway. It’s readily available on physical media/streaming too.

Specifically ‘50s stuff; Hidden Fortress (1958) is a good adventure flick whose structure was swiped for Star Wars, Throne of Blood (1957) is Japanese Macbeth if you like Shakespeare, and if you don’t mind a longer movie Seven Samurai (1954) includes Toshiro Mifune acting like this;

Gotta admit, though—my personal favorites from Kurosawa don’t come from the 1950s; Drunken Angel (1948) and Yojimbo (1961). One has a pathetic gangster as the main lead, the other is just a solid, breezy proto-action film (also has my beloved Unosuke but that's besides the point)

Some personal favorites of mine from the 1950s:

Life of a Horse Trader (1951) is a bittersweet story about a man trying to be a good single father to his son in the backdrop of Hokkaido. He tends not to be great at it. Stars Toshiro Mifune, the most famous face of Japanese cinema and for good reason!

Conflagration/Enjo (1958) is a single Buddhist acolyte’s fall into quiet insanity. Raizo Ichikawa is another amazing actor who I love! Also includes Tatsuya Nakadai who is the GOAT (in my heart).

Godzilla (1954) is AMAZING! If you liked Gozilla Minus One, it took a lot of familiar cues from this movie. It also technically counts as horror, depending on your definition.

Japanese horror from the 1950s:

Ugetsu (1951) (Not one I’ve seen personally, but it’s on Criterion)

The Beast Shall Die (1958) (American Psycho, but in Showa Japan. Tatsuya Nakadai is terrifying in this and absolutely despicable—stylish movie tho!)

Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) (Old-school Japanese ghost story. Honestly, there are so many different versions of this story on film that you can pick which version to watch and go from there—I’m partial to the 1965 version myself, because of the rubber rats and Tatsuya Nakadai playing a crazy person).

The Lady Vampire (1959) is the OG western-style vampire movie from Japan. Plays around with the mythos a lot, but hey our Dracula looks like this;

Misc movies that I think are neat or good gateway movies:

The Samurai Trilogy by Hiroshi Inagaki, which stars Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi. Found that people otherwise uninterested in Japanese cinema really enjoyed this!

You Can Succeed, Too (1964) is one of my favorites from the ‘60s, also directed by Eizō Sugawa. A fun satire on the corporate world that's super colorful with catchy songs.

The Sword of Doom (1966) is also another favorite of mine, starring my beloved Tatsuya Nakadai as another bastard man (seriously though Ryunosuke is FASCINATING to me--). Fun gore effects and action scenes!

Kwaidan (1964) is an anthology of Japanese folk tales, labeled a horror film but in that kinda sorta old-school way. Beautifully shot by my favorite Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi (who, if you like this you should seriously check out his other work!)

[thedepartmentofdiscoveries]

Mifune, Nakadai and Kayama on the set of Sword of Doom.

The Sword of Doom, known in Japan as Dai-bosatsu Tōge (大菩薩峠, "Great Bodhisattva Pass"), is a 1966 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Tatsuya Nakadai. It is based on the serial novel of the same title by Kaizan Nakazato.

[candont]

Now That's An Ending

[cinemajunkie70]

The happiest of birthdays to Tatsuya Nakadai!

[myfairgame]

[byneddiedingo]

Tatsuya Nakadai in The Sword of Doom (Kihachi Okamoto, 1966) Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yuzo Kayama, Yoko Naito, Toshiro Mifune, Ko Nishimura, Ichiro Nakaya, Kei Sato, Tadao Nakamura. Screenplay: Shinobu Hashimoto, based on a novel by Kaizan Nakazoto. Cinematography: Hiroshi Murai. Art direction: Takashi Matsuyama. Film editing: Yoshitami Kuroiwa. Music: Masaru Sato. Among the great actors who aren't exactly household names in the United States, one of the best is Tatsuya Nakadai, who threw himself into roles with such commitment that it's almost a surprise to realize that he's still alive: He's 90 years old. Even with the presence of the charismatic -- and, in the West, much better-known -- Toshiro Mifune in the cast, Nakadai carries The Sword of Doom on his considerable shoulders, playing Ryunosuke, a psychotic samurai, with frightening conviction. In his first appearance in the film, his face is partly hidden by the latticework of a hat, but his eyes burn brightly through the shadowing. He calmly murders an old man whose granddaughter has gone to fetch water. Granted, the old man is praying for death, but an easy one, not the blow of the titular sword. By the end of the film the madness that glitters in Ryunosuke's eyes has been responsible for countless deaths, and it flares up in a cataclysmic ending in which he slashes out at the ghosts he sees behind the bamboo shades of a brothel and eventually at the assassins who come for him. Nakadai does something extraordinary with his body in this final sequence: As Ryunosuke's mind comes unhinged, so does his body, killing in a kind of Totentanz that looks spasmodic but never loses its lethal precision. And there the film ends, on a freeze frame of Nakadai's face and its glittering eyes. The Sword of Doom was meant to have sequels, but they were never made. Yet although we never learn what happens to several other characters whose subplots have centered on Ryunosuke, or indeed whether he survived this orgy of blood, it doesn't really matter much. It's almost enough to have watched Nakadai in performance. 

[thesunsethour]

Jaime deciding to become more involved in Tommen’s life is so funny because his three instincts are:

• teach this 8 year old to learn how to dissociate from unimaginable trauma

• plan to separate Tommen from his mother and fill the small council with allies of his own which should be easy because he knows Tommen’s favourite hobby (stamping his royal seal into hot wax)

• scrap all this and run to the Riverlands with Brienne. sorry Tommen

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

Homer!Odysseus and Epic!Odysseus would try to kill each other if they ever met

[littlestpersimmon]

Desire

[regal-bones]

Lots of fanart!! Which weapon are you picking??

You can support me on Patreon for £1 and fund my art!

[chernobog13]

Death approaches a Buddhist pilgrim in The Sword of Doom (1966).

[drenched-in-sunlight]

one thing i find interesting is that Rellana's sword description said the red one is engraved with "golden flame", it's the same flame seen on Fire Knights' weapon and Messmer's spear. so, flame with gold tinge.

only the flame in Messmer's Orb has black tendrils of the Dark / Abyss, and it's the Orb description that specifically states he hates his fire. other items like his Kindling and Embers also have very distinctive dark outlines (the Kindling description confirms the Abyssal Serpent was eating away at the fire).

so we can safely assume Messmer's fire, when given to others, carries over the golden grace Marika blessed him with, whereas when it's Messmer himself wielding it, or if it's a catalyst that "can't find purchase" in other hosts like Fire Coil / Fire Serpent spell, it will always have the additional dark tendrils, since only Messmer carries the Abyssal Serpent. such a neat design choice and a very consistent way to showcase that.

and it kinda makes me emotional because Marika is vulnerable to fire, yet her blessing to her son is so strong that her gold bleeds into his fire, & it's something that carries over when he shared it to those under his command. like how full of warmth and love that blessing must be? man.

Ymir i get it. i get you. you covet the strength of a mother so much cuz that strength is truly incomparable. welcome back BIoodborne's "Let the pungence of Kos cling, like a mother's devotion...Mercy for the poor, wizened child."

[boydswan]

大菩薩峠 (The Sword of Doom, 1966) dir. Kihachi Okamoto

[yandereunsolved]

Legend of Zelda Villain(s) text posts | Part 1

[pistachi0art]

Come judgement day, this fluttery fiend will fly into action 🦋

[noxx-33i]

Retrospring dump 2

i have so much reqs to draw guys